A wire bending machine typically has a number of bending tools each of which is movably mounted to a frame by a separate tool mounting cartridge.
In the case of a bending machine known from DE-PS 35 23 828, the guide paths for the tool mounting carriages disposed on opposite sides of the material feed axis are defined by planar and rectilinear prismatic bars secured to the machine body and extending parallel to the material or wire feed axis. The tool mounting carriages are linearly displaced between their operating positions and then locked in place. While the downtimes for the adjustment of the tool mounting carriages in this bending machine are advantageously short, the tools carried by the tool mounting carriages cannot be positioned as closely to one another as would be desirable for certain bending programmes. This is because the minimum distance between the tools in the direction of adjustment is determined by the width of the tool mounting carriages.
The same problem is encountered in the case of a bending machine known from DE PS 40 21 346, in which the adjustment downtimes are still further shortened, and the accuracy of the tool mounting carriage adjustment is improved by the employ of a computer-controlled adjustment drive system. Even in the case of extremely slim tool mounting carriages, the minimum spacing between adjacent tools is still determined by the width of the tool mounting carriages.
In addition, both of the two bending machines mentioned above require highly complicated technical structures for enabling a wire or strip material to be bent beyond an angle perpendicular to the material feed axis. This is because the operating axis of each tool mounting carriage extends perpendicular to the material feed axis, so that it is impossible to produce bending stroke components in directions oblique to the material feed axis.